This paper identifies different university spin-off (USO) roles related to resource interaction among business parties. It does so by mapping how USOs become part of business networks in terms of their roles relative to other parties. The theoretical frame of reference focuses on roles and resource interaction based on an industrial network approach to business markets. The empirical research is based onfive cases of USOs representing a variety in terms of technology, degree of newness, sector, and area of application. As a result of the analysis, three different roles are identified: the USO as resource mediator, resource re-combiner and resource renewer. These roles reflect how USOs adapt resources to, or require changes among, business parties' resources. The paper also discusses the main resource interfaces associated with the three roles and related challenges. The paper contributes to previous research through illustrating USOs' roles relative to business parties from a resource interaction point of view, and by pointing to the establishment of new companies in business networks as a way of implementing innovation. Finally, the paper discusses the managerial implications of the research in terms of the USO's need to understand which role to take and how to develop it.

How stress and anxiety are handled is vital to health. To develop knowledge about coping this study aims to investigate differences in the prevalence and correlation between problemfocused, emotionfocused and avoidanceoriented coping and also in defensive pessimism. A quantitative survey was conducted with 62 CBT-students and 87 other students from different courses. The results showed that CBT students use problemfocused coping more than other students, that other students use emotionfocused coping more than CBT-students and that older CBT-students use defensive pessimism less than younger CBT-students. A negative correlation was also found between problemfocused and emotionfocused coping and a positive correlation between emotionfocused coping and defensive pessimism. In summary, the study shows that there are correlations between, as well as age- and educational differences in the use of different coping strategies.

Background: The aim of this study was to survey the relative importance of postoperative recovery targets and perioperative care items, as perceived by a large group of international dedicated professionals.

Methods: A questionnaire with eight postoperative recovery targets and 13 perioperative care items was mailed to participants of the first international Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) congress and to authors of papers with a clear relevance to ERAS in abdominal surgery. The responders were divided into categories according to profession and region.

Results: The recovery targets 'To be completely free of nausea', 'To be independently mobile' and 'To be able to eat and drink as soon as possible' received the highest score irrespective of the responder's profession or region of origin. Equally, the care items 'Optimizing fluid balance', 'Preoperative counselling' and 'Promoting early and scheduled mobilisation' received the highest score across all groups.

Conclusions: Functional recovery, as in tolerance of food without nausea and regained mobility, was considered the most important target of recovery. There was a consistent uniformity in the way international dedicated professionals scored the relative importance of recovery targets and care items. The relative rating of the perioperative care items was not dependent on the strength of evidence supporting the items.

This article addresses itself to the crisis of democracy in inter-war Europe which saw the breakdown of one democratic regime after the other with Czechoslovakia as the only survivor case in Eastern and Central Europe by the end of this period. It is cast within the framework of Stein Rokkan's seminal conceptual map of Europe which is expanded in order to account for countries and variables originally not included in his analytical scheme. The analysis leads to the following conclusion: where the state building was weak and the legacy of empire strong, or where secular nation building was still impaired by deeply rooted religious sentiments, or where significant segments representing major cleavages where not coopted into a constitutional compromise, the chances for democratic survival in inter-war Europe were slim indeed. The conclusion applies to the inter-war era alone, but it clearly has implications for contemporary Europe. Noting that statehood and secularization ranked high on the agenda of communist Eastern Europe, the authors raise the paradoxical question if the success of democracy in this part of the world may in fact be a byproduct of the extent to which the now defunct communist regimes were successful in promoting their pet goals.

This chapter examines public opinion regarding European Community integration in the five small but comparatively prosperous countries in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The evidence reveals a split. On the one hand, there is the positive endorsement expressed in Austria, Finland and Sweden; on the other, there is the negative assessment expressed in Norway and Switzerland. This ambivalence confirms that the impact of centre-periphery location is complex. Moreover, as the Norwegian and Swiss cases indicate, the centre-periphery cleavage within countries is as relevant as that between countries to an understanding of support for internationalized governance.

Nitrocellulose is the main component in many types of ammunition, propellants and explosives. The principles of production for nitrocellulose have not changed much since the 19th century when it started being industrially produced for this purpose. The character of the nitrocellulose has a large effect on the end products abilities. The aim of this study was to develop a method that would be able to characterise and distinguish between nitrocellulose from different manufacturers to be able to relate the character of the nitrocellulose to the properties of ammunition, propellants and explosives. Samples were dissolved in acetone and analysed by GC/MS and data were then analysed by multivariable statistics. FTIR was also used to characterise the nitrocellulose. Results from both methods showed very small differences when chromatograms and spectra were analysed. This study shows that GC/MS and FTIR are not suitable for this type of characterisation. The differences between the data were not sufficient to be able to separate the samples from each other.

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide - dependent deacetylase that belongs to the sirtuin protein family. The protein has been linked to both cancer through its effect on p53 and age related illnesses through its effect on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ). Recent data have shown a correlation between SIRT1, male fertility and spermatogenesis. Because the mechanism of sex differentiation in zebrafish is still not wellunderstood the sirt1 gene is an attractive target to study in order to improve our understanding of this topic. Zebrafish of different age were exposed to various concentrations of EX-527 toinhibit the SIRT1 protein. This was followed by qRT-PCR analysis of apoptotic and sex-related genes. Both apoptotic and sex-related gene expression levels were affected by the exposure. There were differences in genes that were affected, both between the concentrations of EX-527, and between the ages of the exposed zebrafish. The male- specific gene sexdetermining region Y box 9A (sox9a) was down-regulated at both studied EX-527 concentrations in both zebrafish larvae and juveniles. The exposure of the EX-527 resulted in no significant difference in sex-ratio. Further studies are required to describe the pathway for SIRT1 gene regulation in zebrafish.

By applying the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis this paper aims to explore how ideology works within the discursive construction of class, in the representation of the supporters and opponents of the government of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. News items from New York Times (US), El País (Uruguay) and Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) constitute the analyzed material. The paper argues that class-markers are important in the representation of government supporters, whom many times are constructed as belonging to the poorer sectors of society. Class is however less explicit in the representation of Chávez-opposition, which in fact is lead by elite groups. It is therefore argued that class in this context becomes a marker of deviance, which in turn works ideologically in legitimizing oppositional groups and disqualifying the support for Chávez’ government.

15.

Abalo, Ernesto

Örebro University, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences.

Despite scholarly consensus about the importance of the media for democracy, scant attention has been paid to what democracy means to journalistic discourse and how discourses on democracy are interrelated with legitimacy. The aim of this paper is to explore how (il)legitimate democracy is constructed in newspaper discourse. By using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper examines foreign news items about Venezuela, a country that under the presidency of Hugo Chávez has challenged the dominant global political and economic orders. The analysis section focuses on two discourses about the Venezuelan government: the constructions of populism and power concentration, which serve to mark deviance from what is perceived as a legitimate democracy. This paper argues that a liberal perception of democracy constitutes a central framework for the construction of (il)legitimate democracy, which is revealed not least by news discourse’s focus on what is morally unacceptable political conduct according to liberal democratic norms. In this respect, the media discourse serves to denounce potential abuses of governmental power but fail to recognize democracy in the context of a social struggle against the effects of neoliberalism and capitalism. In this case, the news media is hegemonic in the Gramscian sense, because it provides a framework of democracy that remains within the dominant economic and political structures.

This study examines the media discourse on the 2002 coup d’état against the government of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, with the aim of exploring how ideology in media discourse helps construct democracy in a Latin American political context. Critical discourse analysis is used to examine written pieces from Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), El País (Uruguay), and the New York Times (US). The study finds that the discourse on the overthrow and the events preceding it constructs the coup as a potential victory for democracy and as the definitive end of Chávez. However, after the failure of the coup and the reinstallation of Chávez one can perceive discursive renegotiations, such as the publishing of non-fundamental criticism of the overthrow. The study argues that the media discourse on the coup displays a highly relativistic attitude towards democracy, which serves the interests of the elite classes in Venezuela and of US hegemony in global politics. The article also argues that the flexibility of the discourse at hand shows the need for a detailed analysis of how ideology is (re)formed in media discourse.

18.

Abalo, Ernesto

Örebro University, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences.

Rooted in ideology critique, this dissertation studies the construction of democracy in the coverage of Venezuela during the era of President Hugo Chávez. The aim of this endeavor is twofold. First, the dissertation aims to understand the relationship between ideology and the construction of democracy in journalism on foreign political phenomena. Second, it attempts to explore the ways in which the relationship between ideology and democracy in journalism serves to legitimize or delegitimize the struggle for social justice in nations in the global South vis-à-vis the political and economic fundamentals of global capitalism.

The dissertation comprises three articles that study the construction of democracy in depictions of the Venezuelan political system and its key political actors. Article I studies the construction of (il)legitimate democracy in relation to the Venezuelan government, Article II explores the construction of difference between Chávez’s supporters and his opponents, and Article III studies the coverage of the coup d’état against Chávez in 2002. All three articles are methodologically rooted in critical discourse analysis and rely on materials from a sample of three elite newspapers: Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), El País (Uruguay), and the New York Times (US).

Across the studies, there are four macro-strategies that in different ways serve to ideologically load the notion of democracy. Three of these strategies – the constructs of populism, of power concentration and of difference – serve to define political deviance and to (de)legitimize political actors in relation to democracy. The fourth macro-strategy, relativization, serves to justify actions that contradict established democratic principles but serve greater politico-ideological goals.

(De)legitimation in relation to democracy corresponds with the closeness of a group of actors to the dominant political practices and values within global capitalism. Journalistic reporting thus follows a post-political gaze; it is generally in accordance with the political consensus that characterizes the post-Cold War era. Through this gaze, any challenge to the political tenets of global capitalism fails on democratic grounds.

Abstract [en]

Despite scholarly consensus about the importance of the media for democracy, scant attention has been paid to what democracy means to journalistic discourse and how discourses on democracy are interrelated with legitimacy. The aim of this paper is to explore how (il)legitimate democracy is constructed in newspaper discourse. By using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper examines foreign news items about Venezuela, a country that under the presidency of Hugo Chávez has challenged the dominant global political and economic orders. The analysis section focuses on two discourses about the Venezuelan government: the constructions of populism and power concentration, which serve to mark deviance from what is perceived as a legitimate democracy. This paper argues that a liberal perception of democracy constitutes a central framework for the construction of (il)legitimate democracy, which is revealed not least by news discourse’s focus on what is morally unacceptable political conduct according to liberal democratic norms. In this respect, the media discourse serves to denounce potential abuses of governmental power but fail to recognize democracy in the context of a social struggle against the effects of neoliberalism and capitalism. In this case, the news media is hegemonic in the Gramscian sense, because it provides a framework of democracy that remains within the dominant economic and political structures.

Abstract [en]

This study aims to explore the construction of difference in foreign news discourse on culturally similar but politically different non-Western subjects. Applying critical discourse analysis (CDA) together with a critique of Eurocentrism, the study examines difference in newspaper constructions of government supporters and oppositional groups in Venezuela. Discursive differences are evident in the strategies used for constructing the two groups with regard to political rationality and violence. Government supporters are associated with social justice, Venezuela's poor, dogmatic behavior, and the use of political violence. The opposition, in contrast, is constructed as following a Western democratic rationale that stresses anti-authoritarianism. This group is primarily associated with victims of violence. While the opposition is conveyed as being compatible with Eurocentric values and practices, government supporters to great extent deviate from these norms. Such constructions serve to legitimize politico-ideological undercurrents of Eurocentrism, as the defense of liberalism.

Abstract [en]

This study examines the media discourse on the 2002 coup d’état against the government of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, with the aim of exploring how ideology in media discourse helps construct democracy in a Latin American political context. Critical discourse analysis is used to examine written pieces from Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), El País (Uruguay), and the New York Times (US). The study finds that the discourse on the overthrow and the events preceding it constructs the coup as a potential victory for democracy and as the definitive end of Chávez. However, after the failure of the coup and the reinstallation of Chávez one can perceive discursive renegotiations, such as the publishing of non-fundamental criticism of the overthrow. The study argues that the media discourse on the coup displays a highly relativistic attitude towards democracy, which serves the interests of the elite classes in Venezuela and of US hegemony in global politics. The article also argues that the flexibility of the discourse at hand shows the need for a detailed analysis of how ideology is (re)formed in media discourse.

This study aims to explore the construction of difference in foreign news discourse on culturally similar but politically different non-Western subjects. Applying critical discourse analysis (CDA) together with a critique of Eurocentrism, the study examines difference in newspaper constructions of government supporters and oppositional groups in Venezuela. Discursive differences are evident in the strategies used for constructing the two groups with regard to political rationality and violence. Government supporters are associated with social justice, Venezuela's poor, dogmatic behavior, and the use of political violence. The opposition, in contrast, is constructed as following a Western democratic rationale that stresses anti-authoritarianism. This group is primarily associated with victims of violence. While the opposition is conveyed as being compatible with Eurocentric values and practices, government supporters to great extent deviate from these norms. Such constructions serve to legitimize politico-ideological undercurrents of Eurocentrism, as the defense of liberalism.

The first worldwide interlaboratory assesment on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention was organized in the Asian/Pacific, Latin American and African regions during 2009-11.

A relatively large number of laboratories reported data for the PCDDs/PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs, especially in the Asian region. Within the Asian region, several participants used high-resolution GC/high-resolution MS systems optimized for dioxin analysis. The availibility of High-resolution mass spectrometer instrumentation is limited in the Latin America and African regions, although recently several new laboratories for dioxins have started in the Latin American region.

A quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the fucK gene was developed for specific detection of Haemophilus influenzae. The method was tested on sputum and nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) from 78 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). With a reference standard of sputum culture and/or serology against the patient's own nasopharyngeal isolate, H. influenzae etiology was detected in 20 patients. Compared with the reference standard, fucK PCR (using the detection limit 10(5) DNA copies/mL) on sputum and NPA showed a sensitivity of 95.0% (19/20) in both cases, and specificities of 87.9% (51/58) and 89.5% (52/58), respectively. In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, sputum fucK PCR was found to be significantly superior to sputum P6 PCR for detection of H. influenzae CAP. NPA fucK PCR was positive in 3 of 54 adult controls without respiratory symptoms. In conclusion, quantitative fucK real-time PCR provides a sensitive and specific identification of H. influenzae in respiratory secretions.

Agency and institutions are essential concepts within institutional theory. In this Perspectives issue, we draw on a select group of Organization Studies articles to provide an overview of the topic of agency and institutions. We first consider different ways of defining agency and institutions and examine their implications for institutional theory. We then analyse the relationship of actors and institutions through four lenses – the wilful actor, collective intentionality, patchwork institutions and modular individuals. Our analysis leads us to dissociate agency from individuals and view it as a capacity or quality that stems from resources, rights and obligations tied to the roles and social positions actors occupy. Roles and social positions are institutionally engineered. It is social actors qua occupants of roles and positions (not individuals) that enter the social ‘stage’ and exercise agency.

The purpose of this study is to map out and to analyze the spatial variation of female representation at the national level in established democracies. The aim is also to explain the variation in the female representation. The main questions that the paper tries to answer are:

1.How does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?

2.Why does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?

This study is a comparative and statistic study, i.e. a study that includes a bigger number of countries and where quantitative analysis methods are used in order to achieve comparative analyses. This study is both a descriptive and an explanatory study. The statistical method that is used in this study is mainly bivariat analysis and multivariat regression.

The results show that the variation in female representation in the established democracies is quite considerable. Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Netherlands feature high female representation at the national level during the period 1995-2005. The result also implies that the proportion of women in parliament increases during the current period. The result also shows that political institutions, socio-economic -and cultural factors, are important and necessary in order to explain the variation in female representation. The overall standards that can be discerned of the statistical analyses is that the proportion of women in parliament is higher in countries with a proportional electoral system, high number of parliament members, high socio-economic development (high HDI, GDI and GNP per capita) contemporary as the country introduced female suffrage in an early stage and have a more positive attitude toward female leadership.

Election outcomes, or more specifically belonging to a political minority or majority, have a significant impact on citizens’ attitudes toward the political system and political involvement. This study aims to broaden our understanding in these regards by taking into account the effects of people’s political convictions on the relation between belonging to a political minority or majority and their dissatisfaction with the performance of the political system. Using a person-oriented approach, four groups of citizens were identified on the basis of their attachment to political parties. The group of people who were not politically attached to any of the political parties were the most dissatisfied, whereas supporters of parties in government were the least dissatisfied. Moreover, supporters of opposition parties who had high levels of political conviction were more dissatisfied than supporters of opposition parties who had lower levels of political conviction. Overall, the findings of this study show that it is crucial to take into account the individual characteristics of citizens when studying the relations between election outcomes and political attitudes.

In the recent scholarly debates over changing citizenship attitudes and norms in advanced democracies, especially when it comes to rising levels of political dissatisfaction, opinion about the political role of young people is divided. For some scholars, they represent a driving force behind the development of new kinds of citizenship values, and constitute an asset to the functioning of political systems. For others, they pose a potential threat to the health of representative democracy, because of their increasing levels of dissatisfaction and civic disengagement. By contrast with these two competing approaches, this dissertation advances the argument that a more balanced view of young people’s political activities is called for. Adopting a quantitative approach, it aims therefore to contribute to better theoretical and empirical understanding of young people’s political dissatisfaction, and to explain their role in a democratic society. Considering different aspects of dissatisfaction, the current dissertation contributes to previous research in significant ways. Among others things, it adds to our knowledge by showing empirically that, in terms of political dissatisfaction, young people constitute a heterogeneous group, with different political roles and profiles, ranging from the healthy to the more threatening. Moreover, it contributes to previous research by highlighting the crucial role played by fair teachers in providing linkages between young citizens and the wider political system. All in all, the findings in the current dissertation have implications for the ongoing debate over the role and significance of young people in the functioning of democratic systems, and also for political socialization research.

Abstract [en]

Previous research has paid much attention to citizen dissatisfaction and the trends of growing political disaffection, cynicism, and scepticism – in short, the emergence of 'critical citizens'. Also, more recently, critical citizens have sometimes been viewed as an asset for democracy. However, despite both pessimistic and optimistic interpretations of public criticism, the issue of conceptualizing negative attitudes has received less attention. The present study was conducted to enrich understanding of this particular dimension of citizens' attitudes. To this end, the paper suggests an alternative theoretical framework for analysing various forms of negative political orientations. The framework has been tested empirically using three types of statistical procedures, which demonstrate its validity and usefulness.

Keyword

Critical citizens, political dissatisfaction, political disaffection, negative political orientations, political attitudes, youths

Abdelzadeh, Ali

Örebro University, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences.

Özdemir, Metin

Örebro University, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work.

Van Zalk, Maarten

Örebro University, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work.

(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)

Abstract [en]

Past research has shown that, whereas the majority of people in democracies support the idea of democracy as a form of governance, some citizens are dissatisfied with the democratic institutions and the way democracy performs. In this paper, we examined democratic characteristics of dissatisfied youths to understand the role they play in the democratic functioning of a society. Based on youth’s dissatisfaction with the performance of political institutions and the principles of democracy, we identified four groups distinct of citizens. Then, we compared these groups in terms of their political engagement, knowledge and interest, values and attitudes, and law breaking attitudes. The results showed that youths with high levels of principle- and performance-driven dissatisfaction were less likely to participate in politics, less knowledgeable and interested in political issues, and more likely to break the laws, even if people got hurt compared to other three groups. In contrast, youths who were only dissatisfied with the performance of democratic institutions were more likely to participate in politics, and have higher humanistic values and tolerance towards immigrants. By examining distinct groups of dissatisfied citizens and their democratic characteristics, the current study contributes to the general debate on the role of dissatisfied citizens in democracies.

Abstract [en]

Election outcomes, or more specifically belonging to a political minority or majority, have a significant impact on citizens’ attitudes toward the political system and political involvement. This study aims to broaden our understanding in these regards by taking into account the effects of people’s political convictions on the relation between belonging to a political minority or majority and their dissatisfaction with the performance of the political system. Using a person-oriented approach, four groups of citizens were identified on the basis of their attachment to political parties. The group of people who were not politically attached to any of the political parties were the most dissatisfied, whereas supporters of parties in government were the least dissatisfied. Moreover, supporters of opposition parties who had high levels of political conviction were more dissatisfied than supporters of opposition parties who had lower levels of political conviction. Overall, the findings of this study show that it is crucial to take into account the individual characteristics of citizens when studying the relations between election outcomes and political attitudes.

Keyword

political dissatisfaction, political attachment, election outcomes, political conviction, political minority, political majority

Abstract [en]

The role of ‘fair’ institutions in developing democratic legitimacy has received increased attention. Citizens who perceive – on basis of past experiences – that they are being treated fairly by authorities have been held to have greater trust in political institutions. However, previous studies on the relationship between procedural fairness and political trust have not paid sufficient attention to individuals with limited first-hand experiences of authorities. We examine the relationship on an authority that virtually all individuals meet early in life: the school. Using structural equation modeling on unique panel data covering 1,500 Swedish adolescents (ages ranging from 13 to 17), we find a reciprocal relationship: personal encounters with school authorities shape young people’s political trust; however, the images that adolescents get of the political system (through family, peers, media, etc.) have also consequences on their perceptions about the authorities they encounter in their daily lives. The analysis increases our understanding of how individuals form their political allegiances by showing that the relationship between fairness and trust is more dynamic than has previously been suggested: neither an accumulated set of experiences of authorities nor formal ties with political institutions (as voters, etc.) are required for a relationship to emerge.

National Category

Research subject

Identifiers

Note

This study was made possible by access to data from the Political Socialization Program, a longitudinal research program at YeS (Youth & Society) at Örebro University, Sweden. Responsible for the planning, implementation, and financing of the collection of data in this project were Professors Erik Amnå, Mats Ekström, Margaret Kerr, and Håkan Stattin. The data collection was supported by grants from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation. Moreover, the participation of Pär Zetterberg in the writing of this study was made possible by a grant from the Swedish Research Council.

Previous research has paid much attention to citizen dissatisfaction and the trends of growing political disaffection, cynicism, and scepticism – in short, the emergence of 'critical citizens'. Also, more recently, critical citizens have sometimes been viewed as an asset for democracy. However, despite both pessimistic and optimistic interpretations of public criticism, the issue of conceptualizing negative attitudes has received less attention. The present study was conducted to enrich understanding of this particular dimension of citizens' attitudes. To this end, the paper suggests an alternative theoretical framework for analysing various forms of negative political orientations. The framework has been tested empirically using three types of statistical procedures, which demonstrate its validity and usefulness.